Our journey to importing South African wines began with a happy accident and a mutual friend from Canada. Ivo had already brought a few wineries to the Czech Republic years ago, but due to his life in South Africa, he did not have enough time to fully pursue this passion. Matouš has worked in wine sales as a sommelier and salesman for almost 15 years. Even during his first job, his dream of owning his own wine import business was already taking shape. 

In the spring of 2024, we met for the first time, and through a commonality not only in business vision, but also in human values and worldview, we founded Good Hope Wines and embarked on our first journey together to 50 wineries in South Africa. Our company is built on the principles that we ourselves value: honesty, integrity, hard work and a belief in goodness.

Ivo Zrcek

He was attracted to Africa back in the days when freedom was a forbidden word in the Czech Republic. In 1998 he finally fulfilled his dream and left the business in the Czech Republic and set out to conquer Johannesburg with Czech glass packing. Over nearly three decades he built up a company in the Western Cape that focused on importing more than just wine glass and became a supplier to most of the well-known wineries. 

Although now a resident of South Africa, he still returned to the Czech Republic, bringing several pallets of wine with him. After meeting Matthew, he decided to go all in on importing and today, thanks to this story, you can taste a lot of great wines in your own home. His favourite wines are full-bodied and powerful wines made from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot varieties or the local typical Pinotage variety.